On a Roll Beth Bolden (best book club books for discussion .TXT) 📖

it had been in the car, maybe hotter, because then Sean was pushing him against the wall between the kitchen and the living room, devouring him like he couldn’t ever get enough.

Gabriel was just about to say fuck it to the entire plan and reach for Sean’s dick, because it was hard and rubbing against his thigh and he could only take so much temptation without succumbing to it—but then Sean pulled back, and just stared at him, breath coming in choppy, uneven pants.

“Sorry,” he said after a long moment. “Sorry, you were just there and well . . .” He shrugged, like it was hopeless. And it was, because Gabe was hopelessly charmed.

“The way I’m thinking,” Gabriel said, “the sooner we get done with this work stuff, the sooner we can revisit that.”

“Right, right,” Sean said, flushing all the way up his neck to his cheeks. “I just . . . you were right there and well, it’s hard to get enough, isn’t it?”

Gabriel had been with plenty of guys where it hadn’t been so hard to get enough. But with Sean? It felt like that would never happen. And maybe, Gabe thought with a quickening of his heart, Sean was on the exact same page.

“I’ll go, then,” Gabe said, plucking the list out of Sean’s hand. “Before we decide we really can’t get enough.” He leaned in and brushed a kiss across Sean’s scruffy cheek. It felt unbelievably soft, like down, and he turned to go before he could be tempted into staying.

“I’ll get the nuts started,” Sean said with determination in his voice. “My keys are hanging on the hook in the entry. Pink jelly ring, for the truck lock.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Gabriel promised.

He was, actually, back pretty soon. It wasn’t a long walk to the lot from Sean’s townhouse, and he gathered everything they needed quickly, throwing it in one of the Food Truck Warriors canvas bags he had floating around.

He was back on Sean’s doorstep thirty minutes later, giving a quick knock on the door before opening it and walking in.

“In the kitchen!” Sean called out, as Gabe walked through the downstairs towards the back of the house and the kitchen.

“That was quick,” Sean said as Gabe set the bag on the counter and began to unload it.

“Found everything I needed fast,” Gabriel explained. Didn’t want to add that he’d hurried on purpose. Figured that was probably self-explanatory, because it felt like they could barely keep their hands off each other.

“Good,” Sean said. He had a huge metal mixing bowl out, and was stirring some nuts in a sticky spicy-smelling substance. “I’ve just got this ready to put into the oven.”

“How long does it bake for?” Gabe asked, already looking forward to convincing Sean that using the time to make out would be the best use of it, but he was already turning towards the sink, flipping on hot water, and washing out the metal bowl.

“Ten minutes, give or take,” Sean said, “but I’ve got to flip them around occasionally so they don’t burn.”

“Well, that’s disappointing,” Gabriel said, coming up behind him at the sink, putting his arms around Sean while he washed the bowl out. “I was kinda looking forward to taking a break.”

Sean turned and flashed him a smile. “I thought you just took a break.”

“A break with you,” Gabriel said. “That’s the only kind that matters.”

He watched as Sean’s fingers hesitated on the sponge, and unexpectedly he turned, soapy fingers trailing up Gabe’s arms. The look in Sean’s eyes was full of trust and an undeniable affection. Gabe felt his breath catch in his throat. This was going to be the moment. He could feel it, deep down, in his bones. Sean was going to take a deep breath and he was going to confess everything. How this had started only as sex, but had become so much more. He was going to tell Gabriel . . .

And then the alarm on Sean’s watch went off, blaring practically in his ear. Sean flinched and then slipped out of Gabriel’s arms, and went over to the oven, peeking in and using a towel to grab the edge of the cookie sheet to shake the nuts around.

“How do they look?” Gabe asked, after he’d recovered from his disappointment.

“Good,” Sean said. “Coming along, anyway. We should know if there’s any adjustments that need to be made in the next couple of minutes.”

“Alright,” Gabe said. He turned towards the plastic container of meatballs he’d set on the counter earlier. It made sense to work on the wrap now, and get everything prepped for tomorrow’s sales, so they could enjoy themselves later.

Gabriel wasn’t very good at delayed gratification, but for Sean, he could get better. For Sean, he could do anything.

Chapter Twelve

Sean woke up with the smell of roasted nuts in his nose. For a long moment, he couldn’t remember falling into bed or even falling asleep.

He could feel the warmth of Gabriel’s body next to his though, and it made him smile, because Gabe had stayed again.

Rolling over, he saw the trail of clothing on the floor of his bedroom, and the events of the night before began to filter back through his mind. The first batch of nuts had been a disaster—tasty but the spices were totally wrong for the rest of the wrap, which Gabriel had practiced constructing a few times, making sure that he knew exactly how to do it, so he could also teach Ren how to do it.

Then, on the third batch of nuts, Sean had finally gotten the balance of salty to sweet right, only to realize that his second bag of peanuts he’d bought had started to go rancid, and he’d need another one.

Gabriel had run out again, having to try three different grocery stores to find what they needed, and by the time Sean had been satisfied with their stockpile to use for the next week, it had been almost ten, and while he’d been undeniably eager